Monday, January 02, 2012

Chili verde.

Have i done this before on here? dunno. If i have, it's worthy of a repeat, because i have refined my method.

First, grab a highball, put 4 ice cubes in there, stick 4 fingers of decent silver tequila a wedge of squidged lime and a few slugs of decent oj. Sup.

Next, wander over to your iMusic station and toggle through 'til you get to Mastodon. Crack the Skye is ideal, i'd recommend Quintessence is a good start.

Ok. Grab your pile of pork. I went for 500+g of pork belly, 2 loin steaks and a fillet (tenderloin). Also a few hundred grams of lardons to start off with. You want 3-4 onions finely chopped and you want to cook all this down in a BIG pan. Olive oil over a pretty fierce heat initially. Of course in an ideal world, this would be done over wood chips on the bbq or in a smoker, but it is a wet winter in Scotland, so we'll make do. Add some liquid smoke if you have it (if you don't, mail order some from Lupe Pinto's now, that goes for chilis too...).

Once this lot is showing signs of being cooked, add about 3 tablespoons (not a typo) of dried oregano, and you want 8 cloves of finely chopped garlic. Yep, thats not a typo either. Add 500ml of good quality (i can't stress this enough) chicken stock.

Cook for a bit. Meanwile, in a frying pan, soften 2 green peppers, that you chopped to smithereens. Hold on! you are supping your teq and oh, right?. Turn the volume up.

You want 3 or 4 poblanos. Tinned will do (...Lupe...) and a small handful of chopped marinated green chill and rajas and then i add 8-10 pickled chopped serrano's.

Then you want 1 or two tablespoons of flour...you want it to thicken up, but not become a paste. Go easy and stir.

Cook the bugger for as long as you can but keep on top of the fluid level - i'd err on the sloppy side.

If you were in new mexico, you'd probably get this with tortillas and or beans. Id say go for rice. It should be fiery plus plus plus, mmmm'kay? not for the baby or for newbie chili eaters....aim for endorphins and you won't go wrong. Ok go.

Buying fresh chili's in Glasgow might just have become a little easier....Wholefoods is now open in Giffnock. Check it...'Tthebitttt!' says Daisy...